Australian energy company Santos initiated drilling operations earlier this month on an appraisal well located in the Beetaloo Basin of the Northern Territory. The well sits on exploration permit EP161, approximately 160 kilometers east of Daly Waters. The drilling campaign commenced following receipt of environmental management plan approval from the Northern Territory Minister for Lands, Planning and Environment in May 2026.
Exact Contracting, a Northern Territory-based contractor, was selected to perform major preparatory work on the site, including construction of the well pad and associated access infrastructure prior to drilling commencing. The appraisal well is designed to determine whether the area’s shale gas reservoir possesses commercial viability for future development.
Santos has held the exploration permit since 2012 and has previously conducted seismic and drilling exploration activities within the permit area. Estimates indicate the Beetaloo sub-basin, part of the larger McArthur Basin, could contain more than 430 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered gas-in-place on a P50 basis. Company leadership stated that large-scale development could generate substantial long-term economic activity and employment across the Northern Territory and Australia.
The appraisal campaign follows Santos’s recent commissioning of the Barossa gas project, which supplies the Darwin liquefied natural gas plant. The company indicated Barossa has created approximately 300 permanent jobs projected over two decades and is expected to deliver around A$2.5 billion in wages and contracts to the region. Santos recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Tamboran Resources to examine gas export options from the Beetaloo Basin through potential expansion of the Darwin LNG facility.
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